As you all get ready to celebrate the start of a new year, I ask that you be courageous in 2010!  Believe in yourself. Chances are, you have already proven you can be successful in a ROWE.

The path to a ROWE can be difficult at times, but always rewarding. The conversations you need to have about ROWE may be uncomfortable, but necessary. The resistance to ROWE may seem overwhelming, but never defeating.

ROWE is more than work. ROWE is YOU.

We want to share some real experiences you are having out there in the world we are all trying to change.

The Courageous Cat

She’s been trying to get her boss to buy in to ROWE for a long time…and he just hasn’t gotten there. She realized the way to do it is by showing him he can’t have the best of both worlds.  In the past, she used to submit vacation and sick days (because she had to) and still do work (because she wanted to). A devoted employee, but whose skills and abilities were going unnoticed and being under-appreciated.

So…recently, she took a sick day to care for her daughter who was sick.  During the day, her boss called and said “I need you to get on a conference call at 2pm”.  She said “Hmmm…I don’t quite know how that would happen.”  He said “What do you mean?”  She said “Well, this is a sick day and I’m taking care of my daughter so I don’t know how I would take a call like that on a sick day.”  He was upset but couldn’t argue with the logic.

The glaring inefficiency she is exposing to her boss is ‘work can only be achieved in an office during “regular” business hours.’ In a ROWE, her boss would have gotten what he needed from her and she would have been able to live her life as needed (in this particular instance, tending to a sick child).

She also backed her boss into a corner by actually showing him that he can’t force the traditional paradigm (in this case, the submission of sick time), but then want ROWE-like behavior only when it’s convenient for him.  [We'll be updating you on this Courageous Cat's next moves...]

ROWErs in Disguise

1) He is an IT Specialist who was “on call” over the holidays. Unfortunately, on one of those days he became ill and had to call out sick. However, he was able to remain available via a company cell phone and his home computer and internet connection.

2) She is an online marketing interactive specialist, who spends the bulk of her day ONLINE and deep in the wonderful world of spreadsheets and reporting. Her request for a ROWE had been denied in the past. However, she spent her holiday-approved vacation working remotely, with a laptop, an internet connection, lots of holiday music blaring, and productivity galore!

3) She is a Customer Service Rep. for California Schools and works in Pennsylvania. On her months-planned-in- advance/holiday-approved vacation, the V.P. of her firm contacted her mother (also an employee of the same firm) to inquire if it was appropriate to contact her to ask her about an issue that had surfaced. Her mother told the V.P. to try her on her cell. The V.P. was able to reach her via her personal cell phone while she was having a holiday cocktail with friends at a local tavern.  After being apprised of the situation, she went into the bathroom (for privacy) and contacted a client in California to resolve the issue.

4) She is a mother of four small children and often finds herself working while changing diapers and playing Connect Four.  The “work” may involve 10 seconds of an idea congealing in her brain.  She’s figured out that by having control over when, how, and where work responsibilities happen, there is no limit to what she can achieve.  She has no idea how many hours she works, but doesn’t buy into the myth that you have to choose parenthood or a career – both can be done successfully.

5) She is a Baby Boomer who once thought that traditional “retirement” might be in her future.  But now, she knows her future is whatever she wants.  For her, the 40-hour (or 60-hour) workweek has been blown to smitherines and she will continue to find ways to creatively meet her outcomes while enjoying a retirement-like lifestyle now instead of waiting for a magical age.

All of these examples are real. They are happening to real people every day. The BIG issue here is that in all of the above scenarios, the technological resources and individual responsibilities are already in place. Nothing to prove. Technology (cell phone, computer, internet connection, etc.), check! Personal accountability, check!

A fascinating survey commissioned by Cisco and conducted by InsightExpress highlights the readiness of U.S. organizations to support their workforce if a major disaster should occur. The numbers were not comforting – only three of four U.S. organizations were prepared to support a remote workforce.

Two significant positives jumped out at us: The high cost/low security argument of a remote workforce was squashed AND the findings support employee happiness.

“According to Fred Kost, director of security solutions marketing for Cisco, remote access solutions don’t have to be expensive, with simpler solutions costing only tens of dollars per employee.  Most respondents highlighted remote access’ ability to create a better work environment with 71 percent saying it  “increased employee productivity” and 55 percent saying it “enables efficient and competitive business operations.” While remote access can certainly allow workers to do their jobs when a business interruption occurs, it has many other pros: a better work/life balance for employees, decreased overhead costs for businesses, and reduced carbon emissions due to less employee commuting for society as a whole.”

So, there you have it. What is holding you back?  You are a smart, responsible adult. Live life the way you want!

Go ROWE in 2010!!  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

P.S. Cali & Jody are working on the plan for making tools available to all of you to make ROWE a reality in your team/organization in 2010.  They can’t wait to get them in your hands.  Stay tuned…they’re coming, with the launch of a new Website, in a few short weeks…

Just a short time ago, I felt lost, burnt out, and under-appreciated, but then I stumbled upon ROWE and my life was changed…forever!

My gift to you is proof.  Proof that if you believe in something, you can make it happen.

I understand the traditional work environment is not often conducive to sharing ideas about change, but it should be. You should be allowed to voice your opinion about the way you work. You should be encouraged to do so. I know that years of “the way it’s been” has dampened spirits and leaves most of you thinking ROWE would never be accepted at your organization. Why not?

Again, I give you proof…see Best Buy, Gap, Fairview Health Services, Hennepin County’s Human Services and Public Health Department, SpinWeb, Matchstic, Meddius, J.A. Counter, the Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio Council (to name some)… and 2010 will be yielding even more exciting ROWE migrations.

I believe you should respect authority, but always, always, always question it, too. It’s not money that corrupts, it’s power. If you complain, then you WANT change. If you are complacent, then you NEED change. And you should always feel 100% comfortable about expressing yourself professionally to your superiors – especially in matters dealing with how YOU can be successful. Some of you may think being courageous cannot change your life. Why not?

And yet again, I give you proof…Cali & Jody. Their journey was not all candy canes and iced cookies (a lil holiday theme for ya). They not only had to endure resistance at Best Buy, but from the world, too. ROWE could not be compared or paralleled to anything, so how often do you think they heard, “It will never work!”?  Well, seven not so easy yet rewarding years later, what they are proving is the way people work doesn’t work.

My wife, ala The Secret, believes in “ABR” which means ask, believe, receive. If you are reading this blog, you already BELIEVE in ROWE….now go ask for it!  Then you can receive your own proof, too.

As I have conversations with people working in traditional work environments, the concept of ROWE is sometimes very difficult to even imagine.

When most people consider ROWE, the first instinct is to try and imagine how it will work within their organization. The problem with that approach is that ROWE is not meant to be buddied up with an organization’s current culture or modified to be compatible with a particular policy (such as flextime) or manipulated in any way. ROWE must become the culture. ROWE as a culture change is most successful when the adaptation of it is driven by YOU.

ROWE is not a work-from-home program.

ROWE does not free people of accountability.

ROWE is not technical change.

In a ROWE, the ultimate goal is success. Success for the individual and success for the organization. What differs the most between a traditional work environment and a ROWE is the approach in how to achieve success. A traditional work environment most often uses control, time, and subjectivity, whereas a ROWE promotes empowerment, trust, and objectivity. Think about that for a moment. Is the focus at your organization on permission or performance?

Doing something at work because “that’s the way it has always been” is not innovative or motivating. If you believe in your abilities to achieve results, but your method does not resemble the status quo, why does your organization not empower and trust you to do so anyway? A ROWE’s most valuable tool is freedom. Freedom to make decisions, be responsible, and get the work done.

When you think of ROWE, don’t think about your past work experiences or even your current work environment…..think about YOU.

At CultureRX, we acknowledge the existence of organizations sporting positive work cultures. What we wonder is how much influence YOU had/have on creating and tweaking the culture? It’s not really a culture if you are not allowed to shape it as it best suits you to get the work done. More often than not, you are simply being told by others what they feel works best for you.

We often hear, “I think everything is just fine at our organization.” And when you compare organizations to prison, we tend to agree. BUT! Could things be different? Is there something specific you wish you could change? Does something exist that adds no value to your performance, but you HAVE to do it because that’s the way it is? Would you like to only take two hours to run an errand vs. taking a half day or the whole day off? Most important to consider, do you feel you have the freedom and empowerment to work whenever, wherever, and however you want as long as the work gets done?

So, is everything still ‘just fine’?

What ROWE offers is the option for ALL employees to have control over how results are achieved for the organization. This can best be accomplished when an organization clearly defines what the expected  results are and the consequences of not achieving them. From that starting point, the individual can now design his or her approach to work and if those defined results are achieved….what is the problem? ROWE also affords individuals the freedom to live life as they wish. Instead of trying to conform to how an organization’s culture thinks you should live it.

Everything may be just fine, but our thinking is it could be way better if YOU had a say in things!

How often do you find yourself surfing the net at work (for all kinds of things wholesome and good, of course) or chatting with a coworker about the weekend or even fighting to keep your eyes open due to a latenight/early morning? Chances are, often enough to notice.

Does anyone else notice? Your boss? Coworker? Again, chances are pretty good they have noticed too.

You see, the traditional work environment is plagued by the concept of presenteeism, which in short, is based on the formula: physical presence = performance. This practice of simply showing up, putting in time, and not producing is RAMPANT in tons of today’s work environments. A fix is available! In a ROWE, the temperature of your seat is no longer a metric for productivity. Results become the drivers and measurement of performance.

How an organization defines productivity is crucial. And the future of doing so must consider value added as more important than time spent. An incredible piece on this new re-defining of productivity can be found here at Work Shifting.

When “being available” is discussed in a ROWE, “the pushback” can be pretty intense. Let’s take a look at what it means to be available today. Not considering your professional resources, most (and most = millions) of people have one, some, or all of the following: cell phones (with voice mail and texting capabilities), pagers, email accounts, and landline phones. And the technology does not stop there! Today, social media such as Facebook and Twitter, serve as other sources of communication. Now, consider the resources your employer may provide to you…yup, one, some, or all of the above mentioned.

So, how are you available? The answer is most likely a combination of ways.

The discussion now moves to how you manage your availability. “But when I am not working, I don’t want to be bothered!” I hear you. However, when you go to the bathroom at work, or you are out sick, or you are on vacation, or you are away from your desk/cubicle for any reason, have you never come back to the blinking light on your phone or the “email messages waiting” popup on your computer? I am confident you all have. Therefore, you are ALWAYS available and how you decide to take action and what your response time is become the real issues. See, technology has created a virtual you, but the traditional work environment fails to realize this and expand on it.

In most cases, employees have the capability to check work voice mails and emails from a remote location. Some really technologically advanced organizations also afford employees access to networks and systems. Now walk with me…technology allows you as the person to stay connected to colleagues and clients without being shackled to a desk/cubicle + you as the professional can respond (if you so choose to) to colleagues and clients, whether or not you are in the office. Freedom + efficiency = happy person and effective professional!

Being available today and in a ROWE does not mean intrusiveness, but rather means more control of how you go about your life (and work).

Not quite…but give us some time on that one.

The problem resulting from making mistakes in today’s work environment is stress.  Mistake anxiety followed by mistake shame creates an environment of fear.  Fear of thinking independently.  Fear of working creatively.  Fear of embracing innovation.  The employee’s focus shifts from achieving results to not screwing up.  The controlling cultures of traditional work environments exploit this fear by instituting measures designed to reprimand, such as: the verbal warning, the written warning, the special note to file, etc.  That approach is counterproductive.

In a ROWE, the focus is on results and only results.  As long as the work gets done, as long as clients are happy, as long as deadlines are met/exceeded, the employee and the organization are successful.  The enhanced collaboration that takes place in a ROWE allows for improvements to happen on the go – in real time.  Therefore, the outcomes remain the most important drivers.  Instead of glorifying a mistake, the defined outcome is referred to and corrective action is taken to achieve results.  And no one gets all stressed out!  Because in a ROWE, goals are well-defined and employee engagement is strengthened, which leads to an adaptive work environment.

Missteps, errors, and miscalculations will occur, but when those instances take precedence over results, the focus is in the wrong place.  Adapt, correct, and act – fluid.

In a ROWE, a mistake can be viewed as a retake.  That just feels less stressful.

What I had noticed prior to joining up with Cali & Jody, and now being out there with them, is people have a difficult time believing ROWE is a reality.  Or can be a reality.  To address that simply, see Best Buy, Gap, Fairview Health Services, Hennepin County’s Human Services and Public Health Department, SpinWeb, Matchstic, Meddius…the list goes on.  The employees of these organizations are living the benefits of a ROWE.

However, some still view a ROWE as a fantasy approach to work.  Why?  I believe this perspective can be attributed to the harsh realities of a traditional workplace.  Right now, the decision-making process is vertical (top-down), work/life balance is out of whack, and decades of the traditional work environment model continue to keep a stranglehold on change.  Therefore, one or all of these factors discourage people from professionally engaging the organization about anything, let alone something as transformational as ROWE.

The grim realities of a traditional work environment fuel the skepticism and cynicism about ROWE.  This then leads to people thinking ROWE is a fantasy world, because in a ROWE, those grim realities disappear.  Your responsibility and accountability to work will not diminish, but rather the restrictions on how you get your work done will be no longer.  And desk time will no longer be a replacement for performance.

In a ROWE, accountants will have to crunch numbers, project managers will have to manage projects, and IT professionals will have to support networks.  What will change is HOW each will go about getting the work done.  That is important to remember.  In fact, that is essential to remember.

ROWE is not changing the work; ROWE is innovating how the work gets done.